DUBAI // Prosecutors lost their appeal against the acquittal of four men found not guilty of trafficking a woman to Dubai, but their conviction for running a brothel was upheld.
The men were accused of luring the woman to Dubai with the promise of a job and forcing her into the sex industry, but prosecutors were unable to prove it.
Dubai Court of Appeal upheld the not guilty verdict but they all must still serve one year in jail each before being deported.
Last October, Dubai Criminal Court was told the Vietnamese men beat their countrywoman, locked her up and told her she would have to work as a prostitute.
The woman told prosecutors that in June 2015 she was picked up from Dubai International Airport by one of the men and taken to a flat in International City, where she was told she would be working as a prostitute.
“When I refused, I was beaten and locked up for three days. My attempts to escape failed,” the woman said.
She told them that she would find a way to tell their embassy and police if she was not let go, to which they responded that she could leave if she paid her own air fare.
“I arranged with my family back home, who sent me a ticket and he drove me to the airport,” the woman said.
At the airport she was told that her embassy had lodged a police report after her family had contacted them. She was referred to the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children by police, who raided the flat.
“We raided the flat and found it was run as a brothel, where several women worked as prostitutes,” said an Emirati officer.
He said that the four defendants were arrested there.
During questioning, police said the men confessed to running the brothel.
The four were acquitted of human trafficking for lack of evidence but were convicted of running the brothel.
The court ordered the closure of the flat and that the men be kept under observation during their imprisonment.
salamir@thenational.ae